26 August

(UTC+1)

Events on this day in the life of Manfred von Richthofen

Victory 59

Under the guns of the Red Baron, Norman Franks, Hal Giblin and Nigel McCrery??p. 154??

26 August 1917
Between Poelkapelle and Langemark
Poelkapelle

“Combat Report: 0730 hrs, between Poelcapelle and Langemarck, this side of our lines. Spad one-seater. English. During a fighter patrol with four gentlemen of Staffel 11, I saw beneath me a single Spad flying at an altitude of 3.000 metres above a solid cover of cloud. The adversary was probably trying to find flying German artillery planes. I attacked him, coming out of the sun. He tried to escape by diving, but in this moment I shot at him and he disappeared trhought the clouds. Upon pursuit, I saw him beneath the cloud, first plunge straight down, then at about 500 metres altitude explode in the air. Due to the new, very poor incendiary ammunition my pressure line, intake manifold, exhaust, etc, were again so damaged that I would not have been able to pursue a merely wounded opponent. Consequently, he would have escaped and I had to see that I glided as far from the Front as possible. Weather: fine.”

Victory 59

Jagd in Flanderns Himmel, Karl Bodenschatz, Verlag Knorr & Hirth München, 1935??p. 42??

26 August 1917
Between Poelkapelle and Langemark
Poelkapelle

“The Rittmeister forgets paragraph II of the army order and takes off on 26 August; at 7.30 in the morning he shoots down a Spad between Poelkapelle and Langemarck over the front lines. It was his 59th aerial victory and the report of it was not without anger:

“During a fighter flight with four men from Squadron 11, flying at an altitude of 3,000 metres, I saw a single Spad below me above a closed cloud cover. The enemy was apparently hunting low-flying artillery planes. Emerging from the sun, I attacked him. He tried to evade by diving, but I got a good shot at him and he disappeared through a thin wall of cloud. As I chased after him, I saw him plummet vertically under the cloud cover and then burst in the air at an altitude of about 500 metres. Due to the new, very bad F.B. ammunition, my pressure line, intake manifold, exhaust etc. were shot up again, so that I would not have been able to chase an opponent who had just been shot sick, so he would have got away, and I had to see that I got as far away from the front as possible in gliding flight‘.’

Thoughts in the dugout

Der rote Kampfflieger von Rittmeister Manfred Freiherrn von Richthofen, 1933, Eingeleitet und ergänzt von Bolko Freiherr von Richthofen, mit einem Vorwort von Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring, Verlag Ullstein & Co, Berlin??p. 203??

26 August 1917
between 26 August and 3 September (source: Inside the victories of Manfred von Richthofen – Volume 2, James F. Miller, Aeronaut Books, 2016)
Markebeke

“In my shelter, there is a lamp hanging from the ceiling that I had made from an aircraft engine. It comes from an aircraft that I shot down. I installed lamps in the cylinders, and when I lie awake at night and leave the light on, this chandelier on the ceiling looks fantastically eerie, God knows. When I lie there, I have a lot to think about. I write it down without knowing whether anyone other than my closest relatives will ever read it. I am considering writing a sequel to ‘The Red Fighter Pilot’ for a very specific reason. Now the battle, which is being fought on all fronts, has become damn serious; nothing remains of that ‘fresh, cheerful war’ as our activities were called at the beginning. Now we have to defend ourselves desperately everywhere so that the enemies do not invade our country. I now have the dark impression that the ‘Red Fighter Pilot’ shows people a completely different Richthofen than I feel myself to be. When I read the book, I grin cheekily at myself. Now I don’t feel cheeky at all. Not because I imagine what it will be like when death comes knocking at my door one day, certainly not, although I am often reminded that it may happen one day. I have been told by the highest authorities that I should give up flying myself, because one day it will catch up with me. But I would feel very miserable if, now, burdened with glory and medals, I were to live out my days as a pensioner, preserving my precious life for the nation, while every poor fellow in the trenches, who does his duty just as I do, perseveres.

I feel miserable after every air battle, but that is probably due to the after-effects of my head wound. When I set foot back on the ground at the airfield, I make my way to my four walls, wanting to see no one and hear nothing. I believe that’s how it really is; it’s not like people back home imagine, with cheers and shouting. It’s all much more serious, more grim.”

Creation of the death certificate from Richthofens

http://www.frontflieger.de/4-ric13.html??p. ??

26 August 1918
Ostrowo
Ostrowo

“Preparation of Richthofen’s death certificate. As an officer in the Uhlan Regiment No. 1, he had his residence in his garrison Ostrowo (province of Posen). According to the laws, there is – after the death – an official feedback to the registry office of the home community: Death entry 245/1918 at the registry office Ostrowo Ostrowo on 26 August 1918 ‘The commander of the Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 9 has informed that the Rittmeister of the Ulanen-Regiment No. 1, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthoven[*], 25 years old, of Protestant religion, resident in Ostrowo, born in Breslau, single, son of the off-duty major Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen and his wife Kunigunde, née von Schickfuss Neudorf, resident in Schweidnitz, died in the fighting [north of] Vaux-Somme on the twenty-first of April in the year one thousand nine hundred and eighteen from wounds received’. Signature. It is worth noting that the report of the Rittmeister’s death was made via the Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung. This indicates that Fighter Wing 1 was organisationally assigned to FEA 9 as a replacement force. Spelling error in the document: [*] correct: Richthofen”

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